Gate-controlling mechanism for water-wheels.



A. REID.

GATE CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR WATER WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 190B.

Pa-tented'June 22, 1909.

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ALEXANDER REID, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HOLYOKE MACHINE COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

GATE-CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR WATER-WHEELS.

Application filed January 27, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER REID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gate-Controlling Mechanism for lVater- Wheels, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same, inwhich- Figure 1 is a top view of a water wheel casing containing a pair of water wheels and their gates with the controlling mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, and Figs. 3 and 4 are ver tical sectional views through the water wheel gates on the plane of the line r;r, Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 3 showing the gates open and Fig. 4 showing the ates closed.

Similar reference figures refer to similar parts in the different views.

My invention relates to the connecting mechanism between the gates of two or more water wheels and the actuating power by which said gates are opened or closed, and it has for its object to provide means for the uniform opening or closing of the several gates, which I accomplish by means of the mechanism hereinafter described, the novel features of which are pointed out in the an nexed claims.

Whenever two or more gates are to be simultaneously opened or closed by means of power applied at a single point it is desirable to secure, as far as possible, uniform movement of the gates in order that the force of the water applied to each wheel may be the same. If two or more gates are simultaneously moved by a rocking shaft by means of power applied to the shaft, that gate, which is farthest from the application of the power, is liable to lag behind in its movement, caused by the lost motion due to the torsion of the shaft. This is especially noticeable if the shaft is too small or is of considerable length. If two or more gates are operated by a longitudinal reciprocating shaft there is liable to be a difference in the movement of the gates due to lost motion in the connecting mechanism between the power and the gates.

It is the purpose of my present invention to entirely obviate the defects incident to the gate controlling mechanisms now in use by means of a gate controlling mechanism,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1909.

Serial No. 412,693.

by which power is applied to the gates by means of a pulling or tensile strain by means of what I term a tension rod, so that no varia tions in the movement of the gates can occur except by an actual elongation of the tension rod.

Referring to the accompanying drawings 1 denotes a shell or case inclosing a pair of water wheels, not shown, mounted upon a shaft 2. ater is admitted to the wheels by means of gates at each end of the case 1, said gates consisting, in the present case, of a series of rocking blades 3 pivotally supported upon a ring 4 concentric with the water wheels. One end of each of the blades 3 is connected by links 5 with a rotatable ring 6. The rings 6 are provided on opposite sides with projecting ears 7, 7, connected by links 8 with cranks 9 carried by short crank shafts 10 journaled in bearings in the brackets 11. On opposite sides of the wheel casing a rock ing motion imparted to the shafts 10 will serve to rock the ring 6 and open or close the rocking blades The employment of the rocking blades to form a water wheel and the method of operating the same by means of a rotating ring 6 operatively connected with crank shafts is a construction now in common use and forms no part of my present invention. My improvement relates to the method of applying power to the several rocking blades so that the several sets of blades will be moved uniformly and simultaneously both in opening and closing, in order that an absolutely equal supply of water may be furnished each of the wheels. To accomplish this result I attach to each of the crank shafts 10 a pair of radial arms 12 and 13, and at some convenient point in the plane of the shafts 10 I locate a rocking shaft 14 to which the power for opening or closing the gates is applied in the usual and well known manner, either by means of a hand wheel or a governor, not shown, operatively connected with the shaft 14 by means of gearing 15. Upon the ends of the rocking shaft 14 I attach radial arms 16 and 17. The ends of the radial arms 12, 12, and 16 are connected by a tension rod 18 and the ends of the radial arms 13,13, and 17 are similarly connected by a tension rod 19, so that the rocking of the shaft 14 in the direction of the arrow 20 will cause a simultaneous and uniform motion of the two crank shafts 10, 1.0,

by means of a tensile or pulling strain exerted through the tension rod 19, and a rocking motion of the shaft 14 in the direction of the arrow 21 will cause a reverse movement of the crank shafts 10, 10, through a pulling or tensile strain exerted through the tension rod 18.

The tension rods 18 and 19 are preferably constructed in section, instead of a single continuous rod, with the several sections united by means of nuts or turnbuckles 22, 23, having right and left hand screw threads, so that in assembling the parts the rocking blades in each gate may be accurately adjusted with unform openings to any given position on the rocking shaft 14. The pivotal connections between the tension rods 18 and 1'9 and the radial arms 12, 12, and 13, 13, are such that the movement of the radial arms will be accomplished by the pulling strain of the tension rods instead of a pushing strain as the controlling shaft 14 is rocked.

I claim,

1. In a mechanism of the class described, means for opening and closing simultaneously the gates of two or more Water wheels, comprising a rocking shaft for each water Wheel operatively connected with the gate of said wheel, a pair of radial arms on each rocking shaft, rods connecting the ends of the radial arms on said shafts, an operating shaft also provided with radial arms connected with said rods, and means for rocking said operating shaft.

2. In a mechanism of the class described, means for opening and closing simultaneously the gates of two or more water wheels,

comprising parallel crank shafts, one for each water wheel operatively connected with the gate of said wheel, a'pair of radial arms on each crank shaft, parallel rods pivotally connected to the ends of the radial arms on said crank shafts, a rocking shaft parallel with said crank shafts having radial arms pivotally connected with said parallel rods, and means for rocking said rocking shaft.

3. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination with a gate for a water wheel arranged to be operated by a reciprocating movement, of a rocking shaft arranged to impart a reciprocating movement to said gate, radial arms on opposite sides of said rocking shaft, an operating shaft provided with opposite radial arms, means for connecting the ends of the radial arms on the same side of said shafts, and means for rocking said operating shaft.

4. In a mechanism of the class described, means for opening and closing simultaneously the gates of two or more water wheels, comprising a rocking shaft for each Water wheel operatively connected with the gate of said wheel, radial arms on opposite sides of each rocking shaft, parallel rods connecting the ends of the radial arms on the same side of said shafts, and means for applying a pulling strain to each rod alternately.

Dated this 20th day of January 1908.

ALEXANDER REID.

Witnesses PENELOPE COMBERBAOH, Rurus B. FOWLER. 

